The NFL has moved a Super Bowl out of Arizona before over civil rights issues, and if new anti-gay legislation becomes law, the league will have another decision to make

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has until Saturday to either veto, sign or let become law a bill that would allow businesses in her state to deny service to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered people based on the religious beliefs of the business owner. The National Football League is among those watching closely.

Super Bowl XLIX is scheduled for next February 1 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. The NFL has stopped short of saying the game could be moved elsewhere if the legislation becomes law, but the league has moved a Super Bowl out of Arizona before, and the implicit threat floats invisibly but menacingly in the desert sky.

The controversy comes as the NFL is readying to welcome its first openly gay player in Michael Sam, the Missouri linebacker who came out this month, and just as Jason Collins played his first game for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets as the first openly gay active player in the nation’s four major sports leagues.

“The NFL is putting a lot of pressure on the governor (behind the scenes) to veto the bill, from what I can tell,” Sam’s public relations representative, Howard Bragman, told USA TODAY Sports. “I know the host committee has said, ‘Veto it.’ And I know the Arizona Cardinals have said, ‘Veto it.’ I know the NFL is very concerned and watching this very closely.”

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said by email: “Our policies emphasize tolerance and inclusiveness, and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard. We are following the issue in Arizona and will continue to do so should the bill be signed into law, but will decline further comment at this time.”

Comment from others is plentiful. Delaware Gov. Jack Markell said the NFL should consider moving the game if the bill becomes law. The Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee said passage of the bill would “deal a significant blow to the state’s economic growth potential.” And Wade Davis, a gay former NFL player who is executive director of the LGBT activist group You Can Play, said he also hopes that the NFL will move the game should the bill become law.

“You know why?” Davis said. “Because let’s say that Michael Sam is on the team that’s going to the Super Bowl – what is he supposed to do? Not go around and eat? And there are other people in the front office who may have to work in Arizona for the Super Bowl. But I’m a firm believer that the NFL’s going to do the right thing.”

Asked if the NFL should suspend Cardinals home games if the bill becomes law, Davis said, “I don’t know. I would hope that they would.”

“But I think that we also have to do a good job of not just pointing the finger at the NFL,” he said. “There’s a baseball team there. There’s a basketball team there. There are corporations there. We should put pressure on Coke and Pepsi and everyone and not just expect the NFL, as one separate entity, to do all the heavy lifting.”

The potential collision between state politics and the National Football League comes in the form of SB 1062. (SB stands for Senate Bill, not Super Bowl.) The bill comes out of a New Mexico legal battle involving a wedding photographer who told a lesbian couple that she would not photograph their commitment ceremony in 2006 because it clashed with her religious beliefs. The photographer was sued for sexual-orientation discrimination and lost in the New Mexico Supreme Court.

The Arizona bill was written by the conservative-advocacy group Center for Arizona Policy and the Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom. The bill would allow individuals to use religious beliefs as a defense against lawsuits and supporters say it would tweak existing state religious-freedom laws intended to ensure that individuals and business owners are not forced to go against their own beliefs.

Many prominent leaders in the Arizona business community oppose the bill. They sent a letter to Brewer urging her to veto the bill because it would expose businesses to a higher risk of lawsuits and hurt efforts to attract workers.

“The legislation is also already clearly having a negative effect on our tourism industry, one of the largest sectors of the economy,” said the letter signed by presidents of several business groups, including the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

ANOTHER ARIZONA DISPUTE

It’s back to the future for Arizona. In 1990, then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue threatened to move the 1993 Super Bowl out of Arizona if the state refused to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Voters turned thumbs down on the holiday and the NFL moved the 1993 Super Bowl to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Arizona subsequently voted to recognize MLK Day in 1992 and the 1996 Super Bowl was played in Tempe’s Sun Devil Stadium.

In that case, the NFL had three years lead time to relocate the Super Bowl from Arizona. The coming Super Bowl is about 11 months away. Is that enough time to make a switch should the NFL choose to do so?

The Vince Lombardi Trophy might not make it to Arizona if the NFL moves the Super Bowl.(Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)

Former NFL executive Jim Steeg, director of the Super Bowl for 26 years, thinks it is. “If we want, anything can be done,” he said, “given what it is.”

When the events of 9/11 pushed the Super Bowl back a week after the 2001 season, Super Bowl host New Orleans had a conflict because of a national automobile dealers convention. Steeg said the NFL considered moving the game to Miami with talks as late as October – “so that gave us 120 days to try to put that together” – before the auto dealers swapped dates with the NFL.

Steeg said he thinks Tagliabue’s threat to move the game caused some Arizona voters to vote against the holiday. “It’s a unique base of people,” Steeg said. “They’re the wild West. And they don’t want to be told what to do.”

He thinks Arizona voters changed their minds by 1992 because “they saw all the impact of the Super Bowl. And it wasn’t just the Super Bowl, it was all the businesses were scared. Because their primary business is hospitality and travel and entertainment. When conventions started pulling out, it was a whole other thing.”

The current situation differs as it is a senate bill rather than a public referendum. And the clock will tick all week as Brewer decides what to do.

PRESSURE ‘ON MANY LEVELS’

Bragman, whose firm Fifteen Minutes represented Sam at the NFL scouting combine, said among the factors that have energized the gay community of late are the Russian anti-gay laws that were one of the central controversies of the Sochi Games.

“If the governor signs this bill, the NFL would be under tremendous pressure to move this on many, many levels,” Bragman said. “I just hope the governor is wise enough to see that this is a really unfortunate bill, a really sad precedent.”

You Can Play is dedicated to taking homophobia out of sports. One of its co-founders is Philadelphia Flyers scout Patrick Burke, son of Brian Burke, president of hockey operations for the Calgary Flames. Davis is You Can Play’s executive director.

“What excites me is that the NFL’s already issued a statement that they’re keeping a close eyeball on this,” Davis said while citing the Super Bowl that was moved out of Arizona in the 1990s. “So, there’s a precedent there, and the NFL understands it’s important in playing a role in the idea of supporting human rights. It’s really exciting to be a family member of the NFL and to be attached to an organization that I really believe takes this seriously.”

The NFL partners with You Can Play on its “High Five Initiative,” through which pro athletes visit LGBT youth organizations.

Davis said it will take “a groundswell of corporations and local businesses,” not just the NFL and the promise of a Super Bowl, “to push Jan Brewer to make sure that legislation is not enacted.”

He said the Arizona bill, and others under consideration in other states, are not all that surprising in the push and pull of history.

“For some reason, it’s a part of our culture that if we have progress in one direction, there’s a regression in another,” Davis said. “What I find is that we really have a tough time as a country just seeing humanity and seeing that everyone in this country is each other’s mirror and they reflect back on ourselves.

“If I look at you, I will see more alike than I will see different in you. I think we just haven’t done a good job in society of seeing each other as brothers and sisters.”

The 2014 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is quickly approaching. With Selection Sunday set to take place on March 16th, the field of 68 teams will soon come to fruition. Each year, certain teams steal the national spotlight; however, there will always be some under-the-radar teams destined to turn some heads.

These are the teams that can cause March Madness bracket owners fits as the tournament gets underway. Knowing which teams have a great chance of pulling an upset is a crucial element of producing a stellar bracket.

Let’s take a closer look at a few potential Cinderella teams that could make some noise once the first round of the tournament gets underway on March 18th.

George Washington Colonials

Currently sitting sixth in the Atlantic 10 Conference, George Washington hasn’t been putting up gaudy numbers this season, but they have been solid.

The team’s 20-7 record includes a big win against No. 20 Creighton and close losses against No. 25 Marquette and, most recently, No. 10 St. Louis.

The Colonials may only be ranked 96th in points per game, averaging 74, but their defense has been stout, ranking 76th in the nation while giving up an average of 66.4 points per game.

What makes George Washington a team to watch for is the fact that each starter must be accounted for—they don’t simply have just one key player to defend against.

Maurice Creek and Isaiah Armwood could become major factors in the tournament.

Creek is streaky from downtown, but can light up the scoreboard if he gets it going. He is currently shooting .382 from three-point range. Armwood is dominant in the paint on both sides of the ball. He leads the team with an impressive 230 rebounds and 48 blocks this season.

Head coach Mike Lonergan spoke of the team’s diversity and chemistry during an interview with Gene Wang of The Washington Post:

We’ve got really good chemistry, and chemistry means a lot. I think it makes it easier for the international kids that we have six countries [including the United States] represented. I mean, D.C. is diverse. The country’s diverse, and our campus is diverse.

Those traits will continue to mean a lot as this team heads into the tournament.

Mercer Bears

The Mercer Bears are sitting first in the Atlantic Sun Conference with a 22-7 record. Although they haven’t had a brutal schedule this year, this is still a team that could surprise when the NCAA tournament rolls around.

Of their seven losses, a few close contests against Texas and Oklahoma showed that the Bears can hang with some of the more highly regarded college clubs.

Within its own conference; however, Mercer has been blowing away its competition.

Offensively, this is a team that can get on a hot streak and maintain it throughout a game. Ranked 22nd in the country with an average of 80.0 points per game and seventh in the nation in assists per game with 17, these players certainly have built a solid chemistry.

The Bears offense features two solid three-point shooters in Langston Hall and Bud Thomas. Hall is shooting .410 from behind the arc, and Thomas is not far behind with .399.

Scoring on the perimeter is a big part of this offense, although the Bears can get it done in the paint as well. Big man Daniel Coursey has been a rebounding machine this year with a total of 192. He is also a nightmare of defense and has totaled 56 blocks on the season.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Despite Minnesota’s 17-11 record and seventh-place standing in the Big Ten Conference, this is still a team that could surprise by tournament time. The Golden Gophers have had a rough schedule this season, but have stepped up in a big way at times.

Minnesota has played seven ranked opponents this year, but came away with two impressive wins, beating No. 11 Ohio State and blowing out No. 9 Wisconsin by a score of 81-68. They also took No. 5 Michigan State to overtime earlier this season.

Two top-11 wins is something that should not be overlooked here. Minnesota proved that they can compete with some of the best teams in the country, and that’s a huge part of instilling confidence and creating success in the tournament.

This team has not been lighting up scoreboards this year, but they have a solid mix of perimeter shooting and big bodies in the paint that will allow them to stay competitive in March.

Andre Hollins and Malik Smith have dominated the perimeter this season, shooting .380 and .363 from downtown, respectively. On the inside, Austin Hollins and Elliott Eliason continue to use their size to their advantage. Hollins has accrued 163 rebounds this year while Eliason had snatched 203.

This team thrives off turnovers and has three double-digit scorers who can make them count.

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia – There was no official medal ceremony at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, but there was one rendition of the national anthem.

As America’s three ski slopestyle medalists made their way from interview to interview Thursday afternoon after sweeping the medals in the sport’s Olympic debut, a small group of U.S. fans began to sing. It was badly off-key, but it was a poignant gesture not lost on the athletes competing here who for so many years were told their sport was too extreme to be included in something as traditional as the Olympic Games.

“I’m glad we’re still holding on with traditional sports like figure skating and stuff, but we are just dominating in freestyle sports, and I think it’s awesome,” said U.S. fan Tom O’Conner of Buffalo who was part of the chorus singing The Star-Spangled Banner. “This is our sport.”

It’s hard to argue with that. Since the Games opened last week, Americans have won nine medals — five gold — in snowboarding or freeskiing events. That accounts for 75% of the USA’s total medal haul after Thursday’s events.

Consider this 18-hour span at the Extreme Park, home to slopestyle, halfpipe, moguls, aerials and ski and snowboard cross: American women finished first, third and fourth in the snowboard halfpipe just before midnight. By midafternoon the following day, the USA had added three more medals in men’s ski slopestyle: a gold for Joss Christensen, silver for Gus Kenworthy and bronze for Nick Goepper.

MEN’S SWEEP: Americans take podium places in men’s slopestyle

WOMEN’S SKI SLOPESTYLE: Devin Logan takes silver

“It’s freaking amazing,” U.S. freeskiing coach Skogen Sprang said. “I’m still kind of in shock. You don’t really talk about that before. The chance was there, but you don’t really expect it to happen. You can’t expect it to happen.”

But maybe he should have. The Americans have deeper rosters of talent in most of the freestyle skiing and snowboarding events than any other country, which is exactly what Christensen showed in his surprising gold medal day.

FTW: Olympian tries to save stray puppies

Christensen was the final man picked for the slopestyle team, and a controversial one, as he was in a dead heat with other skiers vying for that final spot. If not for a big win in the final qualifier in Park City in January, he would have been watching these Games on television from back home in Utah.

But here he was, and he dominated, turning in three of the top four scores of the day (including the semifinals). He could have won gold and silver by himself. Kenworthy had the second-best score in the final, as he joined Christensen and Goepper in landing at least one risky triple jump.

Teammate Bobby Brown also landed his first-ever triple during a qualification round but couldn’t stick it in the finals and finished ninth.

Joss Christensen (USA) during the men’s slopestyle qualification of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Thursday.

“The jumps were so big that they were pretty effortless but definitely scary,” Kenworthy said.

Scary, he said, because once committed to trying the triple there are only two outcomes — land it, or crash hard.

Just last month, a triple was unheard of in slopestyle. Kenworthy and Goepper each hit one in the X Games in Aspen, Colo., becoming the first men to do it in competition. Christensen arrived in Sochi knowing he’d need one too, so he learned it this week, practiced it and nailed a switch triple 1440 — in which he takes off backward and flips three times while doing four full rotations — en route to gold.

That Christensen hadn’t even tried his triple until this week might sound crazy to those in the traditional sporting sphere. It’s not crazy to freeskiers, who enjoy the creative and innovative side of their events as much as the adrenaline of trying the wildest tricks.

“That’s what makes it so cool, is there is such this cool, creative element to what we do. It never gets stale,” Goepper said.

“When slopestyle skiers are done competing, we go out the next day, we go skiing, and for fun we would hit this same course tomorrow and just work on our own personal style and our own flavor. NFL players, I don’t think for fun they go out and smash into each other.”

NBC didn’t offer live coverage of Friday’s Opening Ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. This led to the biennial tradition of people on social media loudly complaining about the network shunning modernity and clinging to the archaic practice of tape delaying Olympic events for broadcast on both coasts.

It’s getting old, people — the complaints, not the tape delay. Here are six reasons it’s time to stop whining about the delay in NBC’s Olympic coverage.

1. The Olympics — especially the Opening and Closing ceremonies — are a television show

All the spoilers you’ve heard today — the missing Olympic ring, the lighting of the torch, the crazy outfits, the beautiful ballet dancing to Tchaikovsky — do nothing to diminish the viewing experience you’ll have for the Opening Ceremony on Friday night. Tape delaying sports is one thing (we’ll get to that), but there’s no reason to be upset with a delayed parade and pro-Russia celebration.

2. People are still watching

Though the loudest voices seem to belong to people upset with NBC’s decision to tape delay, the numbers tell a different story. The tape-delayed Opening Ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics nabbed 40.7 million viewers. That’s a bigger total than at any previous Olympics, including the live broadcast of the 1996 opener from Atlanta. Those 2012 Summer Games also set ratings records despite airing fully on tape delay.

This is a key example of the media being out of touch with the viewing audience. Most people aren’t spending all day on Twitter, obsessively checking results. They flip on the TV at night and sit back to watch prepackaged highlights, edited to keep their interest. What’s wrong with that?

3. There’s no good way to broadcast an Olympics with a nine-hour time difference

I’ll give you this: It’s annoying when the West Coast has to wait to watch events that are live in the East (like happened during the Beijing and Vancouver Olympics). But Sochi is nine hours ahead of the East coast and 12 hours in front of the West Coast. Nothing is airing live in primetime anyway.

4. Most people don’t have the ability to watch a live broadcast at 11:30 a.m. ET

Would I love to be watching the Opening Ceremony live in 1080p HD with NBC commentary and its top-notch production value? Of course. But I have nothing else to do except watch the Olympics at 11:30 a.m. ET on a Friday. Most Olympic viewers are busy during the day, either with work or school or errands or whatever. Tape delaying makes sense. (On a side note: I do wish NBC would broadcast marquee events live during the weekend instead of saving them for primetime. If Sunday afternoon is good enough for the NFL, it should be good enough for the Olympics.)

“Fine, but what’s wrong with airing live sports for the people who can watch TV in the middle of a work day?”

Again, this would be nice. But streaming has rendered this argument moot. If you care enough to be concerned about the lack of midday coverage, then watching a legal, high-quality NBC stream should tide you over.

“But NBC didn’t stream the Opening Ceremony.”

See No. 1.

5. You watch everything on DVR anyway

Irony of ironies: A majority of us tape delay most our television viewing. If you use your DVR to record shows so you can watch them back at your convenience, you have no business complaining about NBC doing the same thing at the Olympics.

6. NBC does a really, really good job of broadcasting the games

None of this means to suggest the tape delay isn’t a big issue. It’s just time to move on. Don’t let this one annoyance obscure everything else NBC does well. The network airs hundreds of hours of Olympic coverage, devoting time to major sports like figure skating and hockey, as well as lesser sports like curling and biathlon. It’s all covered. NBC has experienced announcers giving solid analysis that never feels dumbed down. The graphics, camerawork and replays are top notch. During primetime, NBC airs informative segments on the culture of the host nation, as well as necessary puff pieces that help you gain an attachment to certain athletes.

Teammate Hannah Kearney saw Kloser perform a back flip off the first jump in her run. The next thing Kearney saw was ominous.

“Next thing I know, they closed the course,” Kearney said, which almost always indicates a crash. It’s a heartbreaking turn of events for Kloser, which is made even more gut wrenching when you read her father Mike’s Facebook post.

Kloser’s father assured his daughter that “Of course she was” still an Olympian but added that Heidi is obviously still “so sad.”

It’s harsh, bitter, and unfair reality of Olympic sports. It’s a tenuous build every four years for these athletes who dedicate years and years of their life. When a terrible turn of luck strikes, you can only shake your head.